'Don't Breathe 2' Review: A Gory Revenge Thriller That Adds Little to its Predecessor
In 2016 Rodo Sayagues’ original horror-thriller, ‘Don’t Breathe’, opened to a wave of praise for its twist on the home-invasion genre. This year, the aptly named sequel ‘Don’t Breath 2’ revisits many of its tropes to tell a new story in the life of blind ‘protagonist’ Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang). While this change in formula allows Sayagues to explore new avenues in Norman’s character, it never truly commits to engaging with the potential complexity of his character, bypassing the monstrous acts of his past. Instead, we are left with the redemptive arc of the anti-hero, structured around hyper-violent visuals.
The film opens to a dazed young girl as she passes out in the middle of a road. Cut straight to eight years later and the same girl, who we learn is Phoenix (Madelyn Grace), is living under Norman’s roof. She is being home-schooled and trained in the art of survival, with Norman controlling how often she is allowed to leave the house. Referencing its predecessor, we are reminded that Norman has previously lost his child. Yet there is no mention of the revenge rape and forced impregnation used to replace said deceased daughter. Even when his only close friend Hernandez (Stephanie Arcila) hints at his past life it concerns his experiences in the Gulf War, not the horrific acts that made him the villain of the first film.
The survival training pays off when a gang led by Raylan (Brendan Sexton III) break into Norman’s house and attempt to kidnap Phoenix. With more of a ruthless edge than the invaders in the first instalment, the threat to Phoenix’s life is ramped up. Now faced with the real thing, Phoenix deftly dodges and weaves her way around the house. Pedro Luque’s cinematography taps into her dynamic and active movement, effortlessly flowing from one room to the next. Managing to make her way into a small homemade panic room in the basement, the emphasis is now placed on Norman’s ability to deal with the invaders.
This is where the controversial choice to reframe Norman as an anti-hero war veteran rather than an evil villain is bound to be met by criticism. While ‘Don’t Breathe’ strategically used less menacing intruders to heighten the terrifying image of Norman, ‘Don’t Breathe 2’ introduces a crueller gang that may allow audiences to root for him this time around. The majority of the gruesome action is shot with Norman as the underdog, trying to overcome fellow veterans with his severe disadvantage.
Stephen Lang returns as Norman Nordstrom. Photo: Sony Pictures
Where the original succeeded by creating a complicated monster that resisted falling back on techniques of empathy, the sequel falls head over heels for Norman. Even before the invaders arrive, he appears frailer with a quiet croaking voice that delivers wise words to Phoenix about a cruel world. Sayagues and co-writer Fede Álvarez decide to depict a more paternal figure, one that is rough around the edges but will ultimately do anything to recapture his fatherly instincts.
The problem of Don’t Breathe 2, then, lies here. As a sequel one expects it to interact with its predecessor, developing its characterization of Norman in a way that is not just strictly based on his survival skills. The events feel so detached from its precursor that viewers will not need to watch ‘Don’t Breathe’ to follow the story. This seems even more absurd when considering the mental and physical repercussions of the first. Instead, the events seem to have been internalized by Norman, now learning to live with it as he tries to create a new life. When we do finally get some sort of confession from Norman, it takes up a mere few minutes of screen time, and it casts a shadow against any kind of true redemption and disrupts the narrative thread of Phoenix getting live the life she deserves.
Besides this noticeable discontinuity between the two instalments, a mention must be given to the young Madelyn Grace who translates a feeling of entrapment on screen. Showing off a palette of emotion, Grace aptly captures the innocence of childhood tainted by the cruelty of those around her. If it’s being trapped by an overly protective Norman or physically restricted by her intruders, Grace’s character should remain the only point of empathy.
Norman showing off his survival skills.
Don’t Breathe 2 strives once again for an intensity of silence. Sound editor, Mandell Winter, acknowledged how much the premise relies on the hyperesthesia of Norman, stripping as much unwanted noise as possible from the sound design. For example, a scene that has Norman laying flat in a shallow pool creates a reverberant space as a single ripple in the water is used to his advantage. It is these much more creative scenes which unify sound and visuals, and the film would have been better served utilizing this amalgamation of techniques more often, rather than resorting to a bloodbath of crushed bones, superglued faces and eye gouging. When the film is truer to its subject matter and getting inventive with depicting hyperesthesia on screen, the more it succeeds in capturing the tension that made the first film so suspenseful.
However, the cheap thrills of its visual style are not enough to redeem a story that doesn’t fit with the original. For a running time of 98 minutes, it seems bizarre that only several seconds are spent recalling Norman’s previous actions, how he survived, and more importantly the lives he ruined. It leaves one with the feeling that Don’t Breathe 2 is a footnote in the life of Norman Nordstrom, and leaves audiences feeling unsatisfied.